The Dutch government is making some 200,000 euros available for students and starters on the labour market.
THE HAGUE--The WeConnect Foundation will receive an annual subsidy until 2027 to support Caribbean students and starters on the labour market.
In 2023, it concerns an amount of about 200,000 euros. The Dutch government will be making this amount available through the Ministry of Home Affairs and Kingdom Relations to help students and starters from the Dutch Caribbean to obtain a job on the islands after their studies. This is desperately needed because there is a great need for professionals on the islands.
Students coming from the Caribbean part of the Kingdom face major challenges socially, financially and culturally. After their studies, Caribbean starters on the labour market often stay in the Netherlands to work, partly because wages in the Caribbean are relatively low, while starters have often accumulated a high study debt.
Moreover, employers and potential employees often find it difficult to find each other, due to the perceived distance between the European Netherlands and the Caribbean islands. As a result, starters often have difficulty entering the labour markets in Aruba, Curaçao, St. Maarten, Bonaire, St. Eustatius and Aruba, which is an important cause of capacity problems faced by the governments on the islands.
“It is important that we pay attention to this group of students and starters, for their own future, but also to strengthen the islands. During my visits to the islands, I have seen that the governments have a great need for good professionals, and that is why we want to make it more attractive for people to go back and work for their native island,” said State Secretary for Kingdom Relations and Digitisation Alexandra van Huffelen.
WeConnect aims to connect the Caribbean with the European Netherlands through among others, educational projects. They are committed to promoting study success and well-being of Caribbean students in the Netherlands. They do this by providing them with a network, budget training, meetings and information at schools in the Caribbean, among other things.
